Viewing an earlier, undated versionView current - (A) The council shall adopt by reference and amend only the latest editions of the following nationally recognized codes and the standards referenced in those codes for regulation of construction within this State: building, residential, gas, plumbing, mechanical, fire, and energy codes as promulgated, published, or made available by the International Code Council, Inc. and the National Electrical Code as published by the National Fire Protection Association. The appendices of the codes provided in this section may be adopted as needed, but the specific appendix or appendices must be referenced by name or letter designation at the time of adoption. However, the provisions of the codes referenced in this section which concern the qualification, removal, dismissal, duties, responsibilities of, and administrative procedures for all building officials, deputy building officials, chief inspectors, other inspectors, and assistants do not apply unless they have been adopted by the municipal or county governing body.
- (B) The governing body of a county may not enforce that portion of a nationally recognized fire prevention code it has adopted which may regulate outdoor burning for forestry, wildlife, and agricultural purposes as regulated by the South Carolina Forestry Commission.
(C) A residential building is considered in compliance with the Building Envelope Requirements of the Energy Code if:
- (1) it is built in compliance with prescriptive standards issued by the South Carolina Residential Builders Commission, in consultation with the State Energy Office, based on computer models of the Energy Code including, but not limited to, options developed by Pacific Northwest National Laboratories, or other nationally recognized laboratories which use the standards developed by Pacific Northwest National Laboratories, for South Carolina's climatic zones, or
(2) if double pane or single pane with storm windows are used for window glass and in the case of ceilings, exterior walls, floors with crawl space, and heating and air conditioning duct work, the determination of the minimum thermal resistance ratings (R-value) is:
- (a) R-30 for ceilings, except for ceiling/roof combinations, which must be at least R-19;
- (b) R-13 for exterior walls;
- (c) R-19 for floors with crawl space;
- (d) R-6, or the installed equivalent, for heating and air conditioning duct work not located in conditioned space.
- (D) All referenced codes adopted by the council shall be accessible at no cost to the public through the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation's Internet web page as a "read only" document.
- (E) Notwithstanding any provision of the referenced codes adopted by the council, a home with three floors of living space constructed on a raised foundation which is not used as living space is considered a three-story building for the purposes of issuing a building permit to a person licensed under Title 40, Chapters 11 and 59. Any person authorized in South Carolina to design and construct buildings up to three stories is authorized to design and construct buildings described by this section.